A PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Running head: A PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM ANALYSIS
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A photovoltaic (PV) system Analysis
[Name]
[Institutional Affiliation]

A PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM ANALYSIS
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Introduction
The cost of electricity and energy at large is becoming high as times goes by and in the future this
trend will increase, because the cost of living is also becoming high as well. solar power is the best bet
for curbing this by using solar energy to generate electricity and boil water. solar energy has various
advantages, among them the fact that it cannot be depleted. Like the UK, solar radiation is fair
throughout the year, with intermittency experienced during snowing times, but still with good
systems, solar energy can be harnessed. That said, anywhere in the world, a good installation practice,
which starts with a well-designed system, is the best way of getting reaping the benefits of solar. A
good installation of solar PV system, whether it is for commercial or industrial or even domestic use,
needs to consider the following: the inclination angle, the solar type (monocrystalline, or
polycrystalline solar types), and whoever installing must have a good financial backing, since solar is
very expensive.
When talking about PV system, there are two sides to it, the direct current (DC) and alternating
current (AC), where one of the sides is supportive to the end user, AC, and the other one is where
generation starts, DC. In parallel connection, the maximum input current that the inverter has is more
than or equal to the current of the PV, the combiner boxes that are connected to the arrays (whether
there’s monitoring base or not). The solar is installed, whether in parallel or in series, accompanied
with other equipment like the inverter and the storage facilities. The AC of the PV farm has cables
connection, like the Low Tension (LT) and mega voltage switchgear, power transformers, (converting
from Low voltage (LV) to Mega voltage (MV)), Metering equipment, the transmission lines and the
high tension (HT) switchyard. This paper, aims at analysing the performance of the PV system, of a
monitored data. Where the monitored data is of a PV system on the roof of the media building on
UCLan campus in Preston. The data were collected in 2013, and they are of, DC and AC sources
(where efficiency is to be determined), the yield of the system, Irradiation data (the performance ratio
calculation is to be determined).

A PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM ANALYSIS
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The System Design
In this project, the solar panels shall be laid on the roof, inclined in a specified angle to receive
maximum light from the sun when the sun is a position. The angle proposed for the solar panels shall
be 10O and the area of coverage is 283m2. The solar panels shall be arranged in a string of 18, that is
around 12 modules in parallel connection, and each array has four PV panels. Each solar panel is rated
180W of power and the manufacturing company is Sharp, with the solar, which is a monocrystalline
type. The solar panels choice is because of efficiency which is needed in the premise, and
monocrystalline are more efficient compared to polycrystalline (Taylor-Parker, 2019). The solar
has a number NU180E1, which according to the company indicates the power the amount of power
produced by one panel. An array has 36 panels which has around 6 arrays, this further means that the
ultimate number of panels are 216 panels. The number of converters shall be six, which have a
parallel connection to panels.
After establishing the arrays, there shall be a connection of the junction boxes, where the arrays have
a DC connection through, this is at the DC side of the solar farm. The solar junction boxes, each of
them has two wires on them, for DC positive and the other DC negative. It allows the solar panels to
be connected in series, where the solar PV panels are connected together by a connection of the
positive lead to the negative lead of the other panel, this increases the voltage on each string. On the
other hand, for parallel connection, the wiring needs positive leads to be connected and the same case
with the negative lead (Admin Power from light, 2017).

A PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM ANALYSIS
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Figure 1: Solar PV arranged onto the roof of the Media Factory of UCLan
The DC isolator switch is essential in a solar installation, every technician or engineer must know this.
DC isolators manually disconnect themselves from the solar PV arrays for safety of the system. They
can also be manually operated during maintenance of the system or repairs of the system on the DC
side of the farm. At the AC side of the farm, there are the AC isolator switches, after the inverter
connection, from the grid, there are the AC isolator switches connected. These are important to isolate
or disconnect the AC component from the system just after the inverter (Sustainable
Construction Services, 2020).
For the project the isolators that shall are used are of 32A rating, the DC isolators. The centralised
inverters shall be used here since they are cheaper than the string inverters, especially for a large scale
like this, though they require a highly skilled technical support to have them maintained or repaired
(Misbrener , 2018). From the isolators, the power is not transmitted to the loads of the building or
premise. There will be the Low Voltage boards connected afterwards before the power goes to the
loads. The loads are connected through these boards, where there are other set of isolators or circuit
breakers, Mould Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB). With appropriate, and properly sized cable, the
connection of the load is managed through the circuit breaker. For the project, the appropriate one will
be of 225A rating and the main on from the solar plant is 1600A. the cable to the loads shall be
calculated and sized.